Sunday, November 25, 2007

Coming Down the Home Stretch

Well, it is nearly two years into our little Hardy Boys project and we are getting close to wrapping things up. This week, I started reading to Julie and Z Danger on Vampire Trail, the 50th book in the series. There are only eight more books to go, plus the Detective Handbook.

It has turned out to be much more of a proposition than I ever imagined that night when I sat down with Z in his room and started reading from the beginning of The Tower Treasure. It didn't take Julie long to join us, and off we went!

As we have pushed through the books, a couple of practices have spontaneously emerged.

Julie and Z race to grab the book first whenever we get to a page with a picture on it. Hey, they are brother and sister...

No one peaks at the cover of the next book until we finish the one we are currently on. At least I don't think they do!

Based on the title and abstract of the book, Julie and Z try to guess the name of the first chapter. They also try to predict the outcomes of various plot threads. Sometimes this is hard. At other times, though, it is pretty simple, especially as we have read more and more of the series. I mean, how many different ways are there for Mr. Hardy to unexpectedly appear at a crucial moment in the story?

What just happened? 3-2-1 (san-er-yi)... Z started this one on our first cross-country trip. Since we are reading each book over a period of days or weeks, we oftentimes have trouble remembering just where the plot left off. So a contest of sorts emerges to see who can shout out our last stopping point the quickest.

What just happened? Two years of great, old fashioned fun, with a few months left to go...